This study examined the quality of preschool teachers' interactive conversations with three- and four-year-olds in two Head Start classrooms serving children from low-income families in the United States. Over a period of 20?weeks, 10 bi-weekly observations of conversations (totaling 15?h per classroom) were conducted in one small-group (Play…

The aim of this study is to investigate communication between preschool teachers and children in documentation situations. The focus is also on what preschool teachers actually document. The research questions are: What characterizes the communication between teachers and children when these teachers are documenting at the same time? What is the…

This paper reports on a study which explores how routine activities in preschool can support young multilingual children's participation, communication and development of languages. The paper takes as its starting point the idea that young children's development takes place through interaction and participation, including in routine…

This article presents analysis of question-answer sequences during problem inquiry between a teacher and two children in an early childhood crèche in New Zealand. Conversation analysis is used to reveal which questions the teacher asks, how children answer the questions, and the teacher's responses to the child's answers. Although…

This paper focuses on one aspect of continuity--the caregiver-child relationship--within a larger global study of continuity in child care based at a university-affiliated child care center. Case studies are presented of two toddler boys, followed as they transitioned from their infant classroom to the preschool classroom at the age of…

Working theories and learning dispositions are key learning outcomes in the early childhood curriculum in New Zealand. However, while there has been a focus on learning dispositions in recent years, less is known about the development of children's working theories or the pedagogy to support this. The aim of this study was to explore children's…

This phenomenological study explored how two experienced teachers interacted with children in classes of three- and five-year-olds. The aim was to further understand the nature of practice that promotes communicative teacher-child relationships. The study took place in a private preschool programme in the United States. Through once-a-week…

A two-year research project with teachers in nine different early childhood centres was designed to explore and extend opportunities for young children to reflect on their learning. This was described as children becoming "wise" about their learning journeys; the aim was to find ways to assist them to articulate their understanding of what they…

Playful structure is a new pedagogic image representing a more balanced and integrated perspective on early years pedagogy, aiming to blend apparent dichotomies and contradictions and to sustain and evolve play-based practice beyond Year 1. Playful structure invites teachers and children to initiate and maintain a degree of playfulness in the…

The aim of this study is to provide insights into the social construction of participation in joint activities in Finnish preschool and primary school classrooms. The article deals with two issues: How do teachers promote participation in a preschool classroom as compared with a primary school classroom? What similarities and differences are…

Considerable change has taken place in Icelandic early childhood education during the past few decades. Preschool, from being geared primarily towards children with evident social needs, has become all but universal. The aim of this study was to shed light on Icelandic parents' views on their children's preschool education and to examine how their…

This small-scale study explores a group of English parents' perceptions of their relationships with their child's nursery school and, after the transition to Reception class, their primary school. It references current research and literature on the issues of transition and the role of parents in their children's education. Findings from…

Drawing on research that sought to explore the characteristics of "Possibility Thinking" as central to creativity in young children's learning, this paper considers question-posing and question-responding as the driving features of "Possibility Thinking" (PT). This qualitative study employed micro-event analysis of peer and pupil-teacher…

This paper is the result of collaboration among early childhood education researchers from different cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The project sought to identify what practitioners in both preschool and primary school settings in Iceland and Australia regarded as successful transition to school practices. Independently developed surveys…

This study provides an extension of analysis concerned with adult questioning carried out in the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY) study. The REPEY study drew on robust quantitative data provided by the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) project to identify the particular pedagogical strategies being applied…